Tires Plus opens Okla. locations BURNSVILLE, Minn.—Team Tires Plus Ltd. has expanded into Oklahoma with the recent openings of company stores in Oklahoma City and Norman.
The Burnsville-based dealership has opened three new locations and plans to open another this August in Edmond, Okla. Two more stores are slated for Tulsa in 2000.
Tires Plus also will open approximately eight to 12 franchise stores in Enid, Shawnee, Muskogee, Bartlesville, Lawton and other Oklahoma communities beginning next year, according to a spokesman.
The new stores, which have 10 to 12 bays, are part of Tires Plus' plan to expand further south and west of its headquarters. Company co-founder Don Gullett is an Oklahoma native and wanted to bring the business back to his home state, the spokesman said.
Counting the three new stores, Tires Plus has 84 company-owned locations and 50 franchises in Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and North and South Dakota.
Kelly, BFS recall tires in Canada
OTTAWA—Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. and Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. are voluntarily recalling tires for possible defects, Transport Canada, Canada's equivalent to the U.S. Department of Transportation, announced.
The Kelly recall is by far the larger, involving nearly 12,000 tires sold under Canadian Tire Corp.'s Motomaster brand name. The 1996-97 Motomaster SK110s, size P205/70R14 and P205/70R15, may suffer cracking above the bead on the white sidewall side, leading to tire failure.
The BFS recall involves 32 Turanza EL41 touring tires, size P195/65R15, sold as original equipment last year to Honda Motor Corp. Transport Canada said a chemical omitted when these tires were cured can affect high-speed performance.
Cooper signs tech contract
FINDLAY, Ohio—Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. have signed a product and technology agreement.
The pact calls for Cooper to use MacNeal-Schwendler's simulation tools and advanced proprietary technology, and processes developed for the tire maker, to shorten its product design cycle, improve product quality and lower costs.
Findlay-based Cooper said it plans to provide its customers with faster delivery of advanced products as a result of the deal.
MacNeal-Schwendler is a supplier of software for technical applications.
NHTSA probes Ford spare tire
WASHINGTON—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has begun an investigation into possible spare tire damage on approximately 700,000 1998 Ford F-150 pickup trucks.
The spare on the Ford F-150 is secured under the bed of the truck by a cable lift. NHTSA has received three complaints from F-150 owners that the tire sidewall wears down against the truck's underpan.
TBC will open warehouse in N.C.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.—TBC Corp. is opening a 580,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in Fayetteville, N.C.
The company said it will begin distributing product from the facility in June, when the 340,000-sq.-ft. first phase of construction is completed. The second phase, which will add 240,000 square feet, will be completed by October.
The Fayetteville site will relieve pressure from TBC's Memphis distribution center and bring product closer to its Multi-Mile, Cordovan and Sigma customers, said President and COO Larry Day.
Carroll Tire Co., TBC's subsidiary, will operate 40,000 square feet of the new facility.
Union approves pact with Cooper
TEXARKANA, Ark.—Union workers at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s Texarkana radial passenger and light truck tire plant approved a three-year contract by a 662-442 vote last month.
The pact will improve union wages, pension benefits, life and accident insurance, and health care coverage.
It will be retroactive to March 9, according to the company and run through March 4, 2002. It also includes a shift to a seven-day, continuous schedule from a five-day work week.
The change will add 300 production and salaried jobs at the plant over the next 13 months, a Cooper spokeswoman said.
The Texarkana plant produces about 41,000 tires per day.